Britain suspends planned increase in aid to Ethiopia because of political unrest
UPDATES with call for Red Cross to be given access to arrested, grafs 8-9 By ANTHONY MITCHELL Associated Press Writer
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Britain on Wednesday suspended a planned 30 million British pounds (US$54.2 million; ¤44.8 million) increase in aid to finance Ethiopia's budget because of political unrest, a visiting British minister said.
The unrest took a violent turn last week in the capital, Addis Ababa, and saw police kill 36 people during protests that began following complaints about the conduct of last month's elections.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi committed to investigating last week's clashes and making the findings public, Britain's International Development Secretary Hilary Benn said after meeting the Ethiopian leader, who is a member of British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Commission for Africa.
«I am putting on hold the planned increase in direct budget support, which we were looking at, which was 30 million (pounds). In my view, it is sensible to hold on to that to see how the situation develops,» Benn told journalists.
He said that his decision would not affect the 60 million pounds (US$108.4 million; ¤89.82 million) Britain has already given Ethiopia to fund its budget.
Benn was on a one-day visit to the Horn of Africa country where he also met with opposition leaders to appeal for calm.
Human Rights Watch said Wednesday that student activists and opposition supporters are among thousands of people have been arrested across Ethiopia following the violence.
Benn called for the Red Cross to be given access to the people who have been rounded up in the mass arrests, and said that those held should be charged or released, including opposition supporters who also had been rounded up.
He said he gave Meles a list of five names of human rights workers and media activists believed to have been arrested in the roundups.
Ethiopia's ruling party, which has pledged itself to democratic reform but shown authoritarian tendencies, claimed victory in last month's elections based on provisional results. But parties have lodged complaints in 299 of the 527 constituencies in the country.
Ethiopia's main opposition leader was freed from house arrest Tuesday after the country's main political parties agreed to work together for peace after 10 days of political unrest left at least 36 people dead
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4097050.stm
Good start. The next move will be against the woyane. Thank you GB. Where is the USA? Do you need more explanation about the tyranny rather than the body of young people from schools, mothers from markets, children from playground? If you wait until you get enough from this kind, meles is more than ready to make you happy with dead body.
